Brassiere



Feb. 26, 1957 A. GARsoN BRAssIERE Filed MaIvCh 30,V 1955 n U m w O m WAvd havn E. w M 1.11 .Z z/ .N/n` 4./ W Il 2 N/ \|.JJ D

x'rren'ts" particularly' adapted" for'feminineY wear: and; with lspeciali reference `to garments provided 'with shoulder straps.-lIrissah ohject'ef-Ythe invention toprovider brassire hav-tag detachableshoulder Straps, enabling' the" brassirel to-be`readilyconverted to' astrapless bras#4 sierefwith a' minimum of eort'.

It is another` objectf of the" invention tot provide adjust# able4meansiha garment of theAV ahovementioned charater; by'lwhielt theshoulderY strapsmay'b'e:positionedt on the garment in any one of anumber of selectetlposi-v tions, to thereby. best adapt the garment tothe individual wearer.

It is an object` ofi` the invention tovprovide a shoulder strap`adjusting-means by which the strapsare completely separable fromtlregarrnentwhen desired; by which" or"t'lieethe'rV- orboth' ofthe endsoftllestrapjs; ay be detachalivanchoredratanurrrberofiselected posn's'fat both'thefront'andback'of'thegaririent and by wlii' Zadjustinentandlpositioningof thestrapsis" possible to' meet the requirements ofeach user of the garment.

More particularly, the invention contemplates the provision of abrassiere or other shoulder-strapped garment having means at the frontupper edge of the garment, as well as means at the rear upper edge ofthe same by which the opposite ends of a shoulder strap may be attachedat any one of a number of locations along either or both of said edges.

With these and other objects to be hereinafter set forth in View, I havedevised the arrangement of parts to be described in the followingspecification and more particularly set forth in the claims appendedhereto.

In the accompanying drawing, wherein an illustrative embodiment of theinvention is disclosed,

Fig. 1 is a rear elevational view of a brassiere constructed inaccordance with the invention, but with one of the shoulder strapsomitted and the other shoulder strap fragmentarily shown;

Fig. 2 is a rear elevational view of a portion of the brassiere, showingthe manner in which the shoulder straps are attached;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged view of one end of one of the shoulder straps,showing the fastening member or hook attached thereto, and showing oneof the apertured strips on the garment for receiving the hook in one orthe other of its apertures;

Fig. 4 is a sectional View, taken substantially on the line 4-4 of Fig.3, looking in the direction of the arrows;

Fig. 5 is a view of one end of the brassiere, showing the expansibleslotted strip secured along the upper edge of the same, and

Fig. 6 is a face view of a modified form of attaching strip.

Referring to the drawing, and more particularly to Figs. 1 and 2thereof, the brassiere therein shown may be, in most respects, ofconventional construction. The bras- Siere therein shown in providedwith the two bust cups iudicatetln at" 1? andz whche areAsuitablyreinforced'. and maybe wire'stiine'df,ifdsired Extending-`from.' thei cup'l isfthesidepaneli3providedat its end 4*'with th'eexpansible* band '5;' terminatingat1 its end"l in" the' tab 6;provid'dwith tlie"fastening'elements or 'eyes '7. Similarly,the"cupf`2"`is .provided withL the" extended i panel 8* provided. at'its end 9 withtheeXpansible" band lijwhichis rein; forcedat' oneenda'sndic'atediatl, andto. whichreim forcedf end is'securedf" the"hooks 11 a'dapted"for 'interenf' gagementwit'h the eyesT to `therebyYholdY theV garment 'in' position about the wearer. T lie elementsth'usn far described are knownin'brassiereconstruction. e

Secured'alongtlie upper"edge13"`of the cup l and'by means of thelinesostitching'l is a'exible elongated" strip'12l whichextendsfcoextensively with the upperedge 13 fr'a'portionof' thelengthof'lsaid` edge. The stripl` 14 is of strong and flexible materialan'd'islsecured'along the `ed'ge`1ofthe cup by'thestitching 14 in amanner4 to" be` covered: andL concealedfroin front" view by thevmarginal upperedge'ofthe cup 1. Provided in the strip- 14' isaplralityofsimilarapertures 16, which may be; l

equallyv'space'df: apart; or' canl ifVY desired', be spaced'unequally.-.These" apertures 16 constitute selective-'anchoring means'fnoneendbftlie shoulder" strapV 24 of' the bras,- siere, andsaid end ofthe shoulder strap s provided`wit`h' nrea'ns for" selective engagement"with any desiredoneV of. the" apertures 1"6. In Figs.` l'; 2and" 3otth'e drawinggj, these' at'zrerturesl` areslrown as being.substantially/triangular in shape, but"`tlie"sa1nemaybemadeirt'various` forms, an example being seen in Fig.` 6,`wherein'iapertures 19""shewn in thfe strip`4 14'x areheartrshaped. Othershapes are completely]practicable; provided the` same"i properly engagethefh'ool elenients"p1"ovided" onthe ends" of the brassire 'and I- to"b'esho'rtly Ldescribedi Provided on the upper edge of the cup 2 is astrip 14, similar to that just described and found on the cup 1. Thisstrip is for engagement with the end of the second shoulder strap.Extending along the upper edge of the expansible band 10 is a stripindicated at 20, which strip may be of expansible material to enable itto stretch longitudinally co -extensively with the stretch or expansionof the band 10. The strip 2t) is secured to the band 10 along its topedge by the stitching indicated at 21, and while said stitching is shownas conventional stitching in the drawing, in order to simplifyillustration, it can be zig-zag stitching to avoid restriction of theexpansibility of the strip 10 and to prevent breaking the stitching.

Provided in the strip 20 is a plurality of spaced slots orbutton-hole-like apertures 22, which can be equal in number to thenumber of apertures 16 in each of the strips 14 or can be more or lessin number. These slotlike apertures 22 can be equally spaced apart ifdesired.

One of the shoulder straps is shown at 24, and the same is provided ateach of its opposite ends with a fastening or attaching element 30 ofthe type clearly shown in Fig. 3. It will be therein seen that thefastening element 30 which actually constitutes a hook, includes arectangular frame 25, provided with a cross-bar 26, inturned spacedapartends 27 and an end bar 28. integrally formed on and extending from theend bar 28 is a T-shaped hook ,element 29, which is adapted to be fittedin any selected one of the triangular apertures 16 or in the slot-likeapertures 22 (Fig. l). The shape of this T-shaped element causes it,when inserted into one or the other of the apertures 16 or 22, tosecurely retain its position therein and resist dislodgement. Thus, whenone of the hook members 30 at one end of the shoulder strap 24 isinserted in one of the apertures 16, and the hook member 30 at theopposite end of the shoulder strap is inserted into one of the slots 22,the shoulder strap will thereupon be securely, yet detachably, securedat both of its ends to the brassiere. Since both ends of the shoulderstrap can be attached at selected positions along both the front upperedge and rear upper edge of the brassiere, it will be apparent that theshoulder straps can be both positioned at the points most desirable forthe individual, thus not only securing the greatest degree of wearingcomfort butv enabling the garment to be so supported on the wearer thatit will provide the most satisfactory lit. The hook elements 30 at theopposite ends of the shoulder straps 24 permit of adjustability of thestrap through them, so that the effective length of these straps may beregulated. The shape of the T-ends of these fasteners is such that theymay be easily engaged or disengaged with the apertures 16 and 22 so thatthe complete removal of the straps, adjustment, shift of position of thestraps, and replacement of the straps when desired, or when the garmentis to be washed, is easily and speedily done.

While I have stated that the strip 20 is located on the expansible band10, it will be understood that a similar strip is also provided on theband 5, so that both shoulder straps and the apertured strips thereforare alike at both sides of the garment.

It is herein indicated that the present invention is particularlyapplicable to brassieres. However, it will be apparent that the same maybe used in connection with slips, dresses and other garments andtherefore it is to be understood that its application to brassieres isillustrative only and is to be taken to comprehend any other garments onwhich the construction can be satisfactorily employed.

Having described a single embodiment of the invention, it is obviousthat the same is not to be restricted thereto, but is broad enough tocover all structures coming within the scope of the annexed claims.

What I claim is:

1. A brassiere having a breast cup having an upper marginal edge, aconcealed strip secured to the inner surface of said edge andterminating at the outer edge of the cup, said strip having a pluralityof equally spaced apertures formed therein, the brassiere having a rearexpansible band, a concealed elastic strip secured along the upper inneredge of said band and being expansible coextensively with the band, thelast-mentioned strip being provided with a plurality of apertures, ashoulder strap having a hook member at each of its opposite ends, one ofsaid hook members being adapted for selective engagement with any one ofthe said apertures in the front strip and the other of said hook membersbeing adapted for engagement with any of the apertures in the rearstrip, the apertures in the front strip being of triangular form; theapertures in the rear strip being slotlike, and the hook members havingT-shaped ends for entry into the apertures in both strips.

2. A brassiere having a breast cup having an upper marginal edge, aconcealed strip secured to the inner surface of said edge andterminating at the outer edge of the cup, said strip having a pluralityof equally spaced apertures formed therein, the brassiere having a rearex pansible band, a concealed elastic strip secured along the upperinner edge of said band and being expansible coextensively with theband, the last mentioned strip being provided with a plurality ofapertures, a shoulder strap having a hook member at each of its oppositeends, one of said hook members being adapted for selective engagementwith any one of the said apertures in the front strip and the other ofsaid hook members being adapted for engagement with any of the aperturesin the rear strip.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS2,032,031 Weisman Feb. 25, 1936 2,055,094 Zweben Sept. 22, 19362,400,499 Gerace May 21, 1946 2,500,432 Ravkind et al Mar. 14, 19502,714,211 Davis Aug. 2, 1955

